Wall and ceiling constructions

ABSTRACT

A ceiling or wall construction for use in buildings comprising a first set of spaced, parallel sheet metal members extending over the ceiling or wall area, disposed in the plane of the desired ceiling or wall, surface elements mounted between and supported by the members, a second set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members of T-shape extending over the same area, arranged behind and at right angles to the members of the first set, connecting means between the two sets of members, and adjustable sheet metal spacer members each formed in two parts, with one part having at one end means in which is engaged a member of the second set and the other part having one end adapted to be affixed to a fixed part of the building.

United States Patent [72] Inventors [54] WALL AND CEILING CONSTRUCTIONS 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 52/484, 52/488, 52/665 [51] Int. Cl....'. E04b 5/52 [50] Field of Search 52/484,

494,495,496 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,945,161 1/1934 Piazza 52/715 2,942,704 6/1960 Stubbs 52/495 x Primary Examiner-Price C. Faw, Jr. Attorney-Holman & Stern ABSTRACT: A ceiling or wall construction for use in buildings comprising a first set of spaced, parallel sheet metal members extending over the ceiling or wall area, disposed in the plane of the desired ceiling or wall, surface elements mounted between and supported by the members, a second set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members of T-shape extending over the same area, arranged behind and at right angles to the members of the first set, connecting means between the two sets of members, and adjustable sheet metal spacer members each formed in two parts, with one part having at one end means in which is engaged a member of the second set and the other part having one end adapted to be affixed to a fixed part of the building.

PATENTED JUL 2 7 1971 SHEET 1 OF 4 Iuvsuraes 6-. J. [has Gan-rm L, F, "7/9: Gan-H WALL AND CEILING CONSTRUCTIONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved ceiling or wall construction adaptable for use in various types of buildings in which it is desired that the basic wall or roof structure be concealed.

It has been found that known wall or ceiling constructions for this purpose entail a number of disadvantages among which may be mentioned difficulties of aligning, locating and levelling the various structural elements carrying the surface elements 'of the ceiling or wall and these difficuItiesinvolve the expenditure of much time in erection with consequent delays and high labor costs.

The surface elements for use with the improved ceiling or wall construction of this invention may, for example, be metal or other tiles or slabs, fittings for electric lighting units, or clear panels for light transmission.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With the object of obviating the aforementioned difficulties and-permitting easy erection, the invention provides a ceiling or wall construction for use in buildings comprising a first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members extending over the ceiling or wall area, disposed in the plane of the desired ceiling or wall, surface elements mounted between and supported by said members, a second set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members of T-shape extending over the same area, arranged behind and at right angles to the members of the first set, connecting means between the two sets of members and adjustable sheet metal spacer members each formed in two parts, with one part having at one end an open-ended slot in which is engaged a member of the second set and the other part having one end adapted to be secured to a fixed part of the building; and in which each T-shaped member of the second set is formed from a metal strip'which is folded lengthwise along its centerline to provide two closely arranged parallel walls, the free end portions of which are bent in opposite directions at right angles to the parallel walls to form a pair of coplanar flanges, while the junction of the walls is formed as a head of a size which measured in the direction of the flanges is greater than the distance between the outer surfaces of the parallel walls.

The invention also provides connecting means between the two sets of members comprising spring clips each of which has a central slot the ends of which are enlarged, a number of protuberances arranged symmetrical to the slot and at least one tongue in axial alignment with the central slot and spaced from one end thereof, with tongue having a bevelled edge at the end remote from the slot.

A further provision of the invention is that each T-shaped member of the second set has in its parallel walls, sets of apertures at regularly spaced intervals, the protuberances and tongue of a spring clip engaging in a set of apertures when the spring clip is pressed into the space between the parallel walls of the member, the portion of the clip containing the central slot projecting below the flanges of the T-shaped member in whichit is engaged to slidably engage the bead of a Tshaped member of the first set. An alternative method of securing the spring clip to a spring T-bar is also provided.

Yet' another feature of the invention is a sheet metal spacer member of adjustable length for securing the ceiling or wall construction of this invention to a fixed part of the building,

The invention is, by way of example, hereinafter more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in Y which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l shows part of a ceiling or wall construction embodying the invention and illustrating one mounting of the surface elements.

FIG. 2 shows part of a ceiling or wall construction embodying the invention and illustrating another mounting of the surface elements.

FIG. 3a shows the two parts of a spacer member.

FIG. 3b shows the spacer member of FIG. 3a in its assembled and fixed condition.

FIG. 4 is a partly sectioned perspective view of the junction at X in F IG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a partly sectioned perspective view of the junction at Y in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, alternative forms of the first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members are shown at I and 2, members of the second' set of spaced, parallel sheet metal members are shown at 3, a metal tile 4 and a mineral tile 5 are shown mounted on members 1 of the first set of members. The metal tiles may be those described in our copending application Ser. No. 820,249 filed Apr. 29, 1969, with the abutting edges interengaged, while the mineral tiles may be additionally supported and engaged by noggin bars 6 arranged transversely between the members 1. Alternatively, a metal tile 4a of known type provided with locating abutments in the form of pip and stop members on upturned edges of the tile is shown mounted on a member 2 of the first set of members.

The sets of apertures shown at 7 in the parallel walls of the members 3 form part of the connecting means between the members 1 and 3 which is shown more particularly in FIG. 4 and the connecting means between the members 2 and 3 shown more in n FIG. 5.

In Figure 4 the member 3 is T-shaped and has parallel walls 8, 8a, coplanar flanges 9, 9a and a bead 10. The member 1 is of similar formation having parallel walls 11, 11a, coplanar flanges 12, 12a and bead 13. A spring clip 14 is shown mounted in the member 3 with its protuberances 14a and tongue 14b engaged in the set of apertures 7 and with slot 15 in the portion of the clip below the member 3 engaged by the bead 13 of the member 1.

In FigureS the T-shaped member 3 has parallel walls 8, 8a, coplanar flanges 9, 9a and a bead 10 while the member 2 is a spring tee bar of known type. A spring clip is shown mounted in the member 3 with its protuberances 14a and tongue 14b engaged in the set of apertures 7 and with the portion of the clip below the member 3 bent to lie against the flange 9, with the bent portion being formed with slits (not shown) and having portions adjoining the slits bent over to engage the flanges of the spring tee bar 2.

In FIGS. 3a and 3b, a part 16 of the spacer member has parallel walls 18, 18a and coplanar flanges 19, 19a, with the flanges 19, l9a being bent coplanar with the walls' 18, 18a to form a flat end 20 which is folded upon itself and provided with a slot 21 which opens into a folded edge 22 and at its inner end is enlarged to a shape 23 corresponding to the bead 10 of the member 3. Part 24 of the spacer member is of similar formation having parallel walls 25, 25a and coplanar flanges 26, with the flanges 26, 26a being bent coplanar with the walls 25, 25a to form a flat end 27 that is bent to provide a bracket, perforated at 28, to take a fixing element such as a screw or nail 29. The two parts 16 and 24 of the spacer member are engaged by inserting the parallelwalled portion 18, 18a of the part 16 into the space between the parallel walls 25, 25a of the part 24; the overall length of the spacer member may be adjusted by sliding the part 16 in and with reference to the part 24 and the overall length is fixed by forming a number of slits 30, 31, 32, 33 in the overlapped flanges 19 and 26, 19a and 26a and bending over the portions adjacent the slits to rigidly interconnect the parts 16 and 24. Preferably, one of the portions adjacent the slits is bent in a direction opposite to that of the other bent portions. In a ceiling construction, it is convenient to have one portion bent upwards to lessen the possibility of air pressure underneath the surface elements causing an upward movement of the ceiling.

FIG. 2 illustrates another mounting of the surface elements where mineral tiles 34 are laid on the flanges 12, 12a of the members 1, additionally supported by noggin bars 6 arranged transversely between the members 1 and secured in position by clips 35. The flanges of the members 1 and the noggin bars may be concealed from view by cover slips 36 whose visible surface may be decorated with a plastic or other finishing medium. To promote fire resistance, fusible links 37 of known type may be provided, mounted on rod members 38 inserted in the head 13 of member 1; in the assembled position, a gap 39 is left between individual members I, thus allowing the members I to expand axially towards each other without buckling in the initial stages ofa fire.

We claim:

1. A covering construction for ceilings and walls for use in buildings including a first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members extending over the area to be covered, disposed in the plane of the desired covering, surface elements mounted between and supported by said members, a second set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members of T-shape extending over the same area, arranged behind and at right angles to the members of the first set, connecting means between the two sets of members, and adjustable sheet metal spacer members each formed in two parts, one part having at one end an openended slot in which is engaged a member of the second set and the other part having one end adapted to be secured to a fixed part of the building, each T-shaped member of the second set being formed from a metal strip folded lengthwise along its centerline to provide two closely arranged parallel walls, said walls having free end portions bent in opposite directions at right angles to the parallel walls to form a pair of coplanar flanges, the junction of the walls being defined as a bead of a size which measured in the direction of the flanges is greater than the distance between the outer surfaces of the parallel walls, each part of the spacer members being formed from a metal strip folded lengthwise along its centerline to provide two closely arranged parallel walls, said parallel walls having free end portions bent in opposite directions at right angles to the parallel walls to form a pair of coplanar flanges, and one part has the flanges of an end portion bent coplanar with the walls carrying them to form a flat end folded upon itself, said folded flat end being provided with a slot which opens into the folded edge and at its inner end is enlarged to a shape corresponding to the bead of the T-shaped member of the second set and the other part has an end portion formed in the same manner with a flat end to provide a bracket to receive a fixing walled portion of one part being located in the space between the parallel-walled portion of the other part, a wall of one of said parallel-walled portions being provided with a plurality of spaced slits, with the wall portion between a selected pair of said slits being bent over an adjacent portion of a wall of said other of said spacer parts to thereby fix the overall length of the spacer member.

3. The covering construction as claimed in claim 2, in which at least one of the portions adjacent the slit is bent in a direction opposite to that of the other bent portions.

4. The covering construction as claimed in claim 1 wherein the connecting means between the two sets of members comprises spring clips each of which comprises a sheet metal plate formed with a central slot the ends of which are enlarged, a number of protuberances arranged symmetrical to the slit, each protuberance being pressed from the plate adjoining a slit and with at least one tongue cut and bent from the plate in axial alignment with the central slot and spaced from one end thereof, the tongue having a bevelled edge at the end remote from the slot, the plate being bent centrally upon itself, transversely of the central slot, to form a spring clip having two outwardly splayed limbs.

5. The covering construction as claimed in claim 4 in which each T -shaped member of the second set has in its parallel walls sets of apertures at regularly spaced intervals, the protuberances and tongue of a spring clip engaging in a set of apertures when the said spring clip is pressed into the space between the parallel walls of the member, the folded portion of the clip containing the central slot projecting below the flanges of the T-shaped member in which it is engaged.

6. The covering construction as claimed in claim 1 in which each member of the first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members is a spring T-bar and is engaged by the spring clips each of which is bent at its lower end to lie against a flange of the member in which it is mounted, the bent portion being formed with slits and having portions adjoining the slits bent over to engage the flanges of the spring T-member.

7. The covering construction as claimed in claim 1 in which the members of the first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members are of the same shape as the T-shaped members of the second set, and wherein the bead of each member of the first set is slidably engaged in a slot in a spring clip mounted in a member of the second set, the slot in each spring clip having a shape corresponding with that of the beads of the members of the first set. 

1. A covering construction for ceilings and walls for use in buildings including a first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members extending over the area to be covered, disposed in the plane of the desired covering, surface elements mounted between and supported by said members, a second set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members of T-shape extending over the same area, arranged behind and at right angles to the members of the first set, connecting means between the two sets of members, and adjustable sheet metal spacer members each formed in two parts, one part having at one end an open-ended slot in which is engaged a member of the second set and the other part having one end adapted to be secured to a fixed part of the building, each Tshaped member of the second set being formed from a metal strip folded lengthwise along its centerline to provide two closely arranged parallel walls, said walls having free end portions bent in opposite directions at right angles to the parallel walls to form a pair of coplanar flanges, the junction of the walls being defined as a bead of a size which measured in the direction of the flanges is greater than the distance between the outer surfaces of the parallel walls, each part of the spacer members being formed from a metal strip folded lengthwise along its centerline to provide two closely arranged parallel walls, said parallel walls having free end portions bent in opposite directions at right angles to the parallel walls to form a pair of coplanar flanges, and one part has the flanges of an end portion bent coplanar with the walls carrying them to form a flat end folded upon itself, said folded flat end being provided with a slot which opens into the folded edge and at its inner end is enlarged to a shape corresponding to the bead of the T-shaped member of the second set and the other paRt has an end portion formed in the same manner with a flat end to provide a bracket to receive a fixing element.
 2. The covering construction as claimed in claim 1 in which the two parts of a spacer member are engaged by the parallel walled portion of one part being located in the space between the parallel-walled portion of the other part, a wall of one of said parallel-walled portions being provided with a plurality of spaced slits, with the wall portion between a selected pair of said slits being bent over an adjacent portion of a wall of said other of said spacer parts to thereby fix the overall length of the spacer member.
 3. The covering construction as claimed in claim 2, in which at least one of the portions adjacent the slit is bent in a direction opposite to that of the other bent portions.
 4. The covering construction as claimed in claim 1 wherein the connecting means between the two sets of members comprises spring clips each of which comprises a sheet metal plate formed with a central slot the ends of which are enlarged, a number of protuberances arranged symmetrical to the slit, each protuberance being pressed from the plate adjoining a slit and with at least one tongue cut and bent from the plate in axial alignment with the central slot and spaced from one end thereof, the tongue having a bevelled edge at the end remote from the slot, the plate being bent centrally upon itself, transversely of the central slot, to form a spring clip having two outwardly splayed limbs.
 5. The covering construction as claimed in claim 4 in which each T-shaped member of the second set has in its parallel walls sets of apertures at regularly spaced intervals, the protuberances and tongue of a spring clip engaging in a set of apertures when the said spring clip is pressed into the space between the parallel walls of the member, the folded portion of the clip containing the central slot projecting below the flanges of the T-shaped member in which it is engaged.
 6. The covering construction as claimed in claim 1 in which each member of the first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members is a spring T-bar and is engaged by the spring clips each of which is bent at its lower end to lie against a flange of the member in which it is mounted, the bent portion being formed with slits and having portions adjoining the slits bent over to engage the flanges of the spring T-member.
 7. The covering construction as claimed in claim 1 in which the members of the first set of spaced, parallel, sheet metal members are of the same shape as the T-shaped members of the second set, and wherein the bead of each member of the first set is slidably engaged in a slot in a spring clip mounted in a member of the second set, the slot in each spring clip having a shape corresponding with that of the beads of the members of the first set. 